Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture to Open 'Young Artists Startup Festa' on the 20th

Held for Four Days at the Youth Art Space in Seodaemun-gu

The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture will host the 'Seoul Young Artists Startup Festa 2025' from November 20 to 23 at the Youth Art Space in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.

The Seoul Young Artists Startup Festa 2025 serves as an opportunity to showcase the achievements of this year’s support programs, which were designed to explore the entrepreneurial potential of young artists and expand the ecosystem for arts support. The event will feature presentations and award ceremonies for arts startups, expert lectures, and startup booths, among other activities.

On the first day, November 20, lectures will be held under the theme of 'Connecting Creation and Entrepreneurship.' Bhan Soogyeong, CEO of the global art curation startup Openwall, will present on 'How to Connect Creation and Entrepreneurship,' while Choi Dongcheol, CEO of Wadiz Impact, the impact investment division of the crowdfunding platform Wadiz, will speak on 'Why We Focus on Artists’ Entrepreneurship.'

Following the lectures, a demo day will be held for early-stage startups selected as 'Porsche Frontier Startups.' The presenting companies are Baraloft (Baraloft Dance Exhibition), Eondeon (modular 3D art object development), Onebyone Studio (interactive Korean traditional music content: Gugakcade), Paso (art market transaction database and secondary trading platform), and Hyunhee (products developed with recycled crystals), totaling five companies.

Each of these companies received 30 million won in business funding and underwent a software-centered acceleration program over the past three months, during which they acquired knowledge, experience, and business insights from professional startup planners. During the event, a presentation session will be held to evaluate the advancement of each business, and a total of 15 million won in prize money will be awarded: 7 million won to one grand prize team, 5 million won to one excellence award team, and 1 million won each to three outstanding teams.

On the second day, November 21, a demo day will be held for promising pre-startup teams, separately selected from among those chosen for the pre-startup program. A total of ten teams, including Artistpia (a service for commissioning personalized art pieces), Le Petit Ensemble (a classical concert brand exclusively for children), and Podo Store (a story IP platform utilizing AI-based data protection technology), will present their refined ideas after three months of preparatory training. On this day, a total of 8 million won in prize money will be awarded: 3 million won to one grand prize team, 2 million won to one excellence award team, and 1 million won each to three outstanding teams.

Throughout the event, a startup booth will be continuously operated in the lounge of the Youth Art Space, featuring participation from pre-startup and early-stage arts enterprises. Visitors will be able to view and experience products firsthand at the booths and participate in a virtual investment event, allowing them to feel the vibrancy of the arts startup scene and the spirit of challenge among young artists up close.

Song Hyungjong, CEO of the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, stated, "This event is a meaningful occasion to witness the achievements of arts startup support programs in one place and to observe the process by which young artists’ creativity and ambition are translated into real entrepreneurship. I hope this Festa will serve as a compass, clearly illustrating and guiding the path of arts entrepreneurship for young artists."

The Seoul Young Artists Startup Festa 2025 is free to attend with prior registration. Applications for participation can be submitted through the official website of the Youth Art Space and the Eventus homepage.